The NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement starts on 16 September 2026 and runs to 15 September 2030. What changed? Well, contracts get shorter. Seasons get longer. Rookies have to wear neck guards. Among other things.
One thing first, because almost everyone gets this wrong: not all of it is new. The league rolled this deal out in stages, and a bunch of the headline stuff — the playoff salary cap, the LTIR limit, the double-retention ban — has been in effect since last season. The playoff cap showed up at the 2026 playoffs, back in the spring.
So, two lists.
What’s new on 16 September?
Contracts. That’s basically it, and it’s a big it.
| Rule | Before | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Max term, re-signing with your own team | 8 years | 7 years |
| Max term, signing somewhere else | 7 years | 6 years |
| Signing bonus | No limit | 60% of the deal, max |
| Year-to-year salary swing | 25% | 20% |
| Lowest year vs highest year | 60% | 71% |
That last row is the killer. Teams used to pay a guy $12 million up front and $7.2 million at the back end. Now the back end can’t drop below $8.52 million. Add the bonus cap on top and the front-loaded, buyout-proof monster contract — the one every star has signed for a decade — gets a lot harder to build.
What’s the salary cap in 2026-27?
$104 million. Floor is $76.9 million, and no single player can make more than $20.8 million. Next year it jumps to $113.5 million. After that, nobody knows.
Why are there 84 games now?
Because the league wanted two more and paid for them out of the preseason. Exhibition games drop from six to four, and camp is down to 13 days for veterans. First 84-game season since 1994-95.
Small one that matters in late September: fitness testing is banned. No more bag skates and VO2 numbers leaking out of day one.
What is the NHL’s new emergency backup goalie rule?
Sort of. Every team now has to employ a full-time emergency backup goalie who travels with the club. No more grabbing whoever’s in the building.
But the league kept the fun part. To qualify, you have to:
- have never played an NHL game
- have played 80 or fewer pro games, ever
- have not played pro hockey in the last three seasons
David Ayres, the 42-year-old Zamboni driver who beat the Leafs in 2020, would still be eligible. He’d just have been on the payroll that morning.
Are neck guards mandatory in the NHL now?
For new guys, yes. Any player who hasn’t played an NHL game before has to wear cut-resistant neck protection starting this season. Everyone already in the league is grandfathered in.
So it arrives one rookie class at a time. Full coverage is a decade away, not a season.
Which NHL CBA changes were already in force before 2026-27?
All of this has been live since 2025-26:
| What | Live since |
|---|---|
| Playoff salary cap | 2025-26 — used at the 2026 playoffs |
| No more “paper transactions” to bank cap space | 2025-26 |
| No double salary retention in trades | 2025-26 |
| No deferred salary in contracts | 2025-26 |
| Post-deadline emergency recalls: 4 → 5 | 2025-26 |
| Cap on LTIR relief in the playoffs | 2025-26 |
Watch out for the playoff cap specifically. It’s the biggest change in the agreement, and it keeps getting called new. It isn’t. Teams that spent years parking guys on LTIR for an April reset already dealt with it last spring.
One more that isn’t this season: the change to how long teams hold draft rights starts with the 2027 draft.
When does the new NHL CBA expire?
15 September 2030 — four seasons. It’s also the first NHL labor deal since 2005 to be done without a lockout, which is its own kind of news.
